Don't make me frog it. You won't like me when I frog it.

A bundle of beautiful baby blankets

I love handmade blankets, and I’m proud of the fact that all of my baby girl’s blankets are handmade. Well, except for that one cotton cellular blanket I panic bought after being told it was absolutely the only kind of blanket that was safe for a newborn.

Actually, well-made hand knitted or crocheted blankets are generally very safe for babies as they aren’t too dense for the baby to breathe through if it accidentally covers their face, and as soon as I was reassured with some better advice, I ditched the pastel pink shop bought monstrosity.

My favourite baby blanket is still the rainbow granny square blanket. The pattern was in issue 30 of Simply Crochet magazine, and recently they asked on Instagram if anyone had made the pattern. I posted a picture of BB rolling around on her favourite blanket with the #treblemaker tag and guess who ended up on page 69 of this month’s issue! They did ask for my permission first though, which was nice.

The stripey bamboo/cotton mix blanket I made also had its own little moment of fame in October’s Simply Knitting magazine (which I would have missed if Jean the creative pixie hadn’t spotted it and let me know!)

I have clearly already peaked where making baby blankets are concerned, but that hasn’t stopped me making more!

The next one I knitted was my first attempt using a slipped stitch pattern, and the pattern was easy to remember and fun to knit. I think it’s supposed to look like honeycomb, but with the colours I’ve used it makes me think of fish scales, so I tend to call it the goldfish blanket!

The back of the blanket is surprisingly neat, which is very pleasing, but as it is knitted in aran weight cotton there is not much to be done about all the ends to sew in when I was finished. They were a nightmare, and impossible to hide completely. Still, the pattern is so striking that it’s easy to overlook the odd tufty end sticking out where it shouldn’t. Maybe I should send a picture to Let’s Knit magazine, as they were the ones to publish the pattern in issue 92 last year!

There’s nothing like knitting or crocheting a blanket to really make appreciate the effort when someone else makes something for you. All told BB has twelve blankets that have been handmade for her (including my three), and knowing how long they take to make, that’s pretty overwhelming!

One blanket was hiding at my mum’s house when I did this little photo shoot, but I did find this picture of BB snuggling underneath it. It was a gift from my neighbour’s daughter, and it came all the way from New Zealand.

Of all the blankets other people have made for her, the one most precious to me is the one my nieceling no 1 crocheted for her.

I taught her the basics of crochet and bought her a book of patterns and techniques, and this was one of her first crochet projects. I could not be more proud of her beautiful labour of love! We have used this blanket almost every time we take BB out in her buggy or car seat.

BB loves crocheted blankets, and especially enjoys poking her fat little fingers through the stitches. With such an appreciative recipient it’s no great surprise that I’ve started (and nearly finished) another blanket, this time a granny stripe one in seaside inspired colours. I’ve posted a few snaps of it as a WIP on Instagram, and hopefully it won’t be over a month between blog posts this time, and I can show it to you properly!

Fabulous! And how wonderful that your family contributed so many. I was so proud when my stepson said that my stepgranddaughter came home from hospital in a hat and cardigan I made her. Your little one is ADORABLE. X